KOTA TINGGI, The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) today detained two foreign vessels of the 'Very Large Crude Carrier' (VLCC) type, believed to be carrying out ship-to-ship oil transfer in the waters of East Johor, yesterday.
Johor State Maritime Director First Maritime Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the tankers, registered in Panama and Honduras, was spotted carrying out 'ship to ship' oil transfer activities at 32.1 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sedili at 12.35 pm.
He said the ship from Panama was manned by 26 crew aged between 23 to 54 while the ship from Honduras was manned by 26 crew aged between 21 to 51.
"The captain of the ship failed to submit any authorisation documents for the activities (oil transfer).
"Since both also refused to cooperate, the MMEA had to seek assistance from the Air Operations Division and the Special Action Team using the US 365 Dauphin aircraft to perform 'force boarding', before being arrested at 6 pm," he said in a statement today.
Nurul Hizam said the case will be investigated under Section 491B (1) (K) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952, Section 491B (1) (L) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 and Section 186 of the Penal Code.
"We would like to remind all vessels that carry out activities in the waters of East Johor in particular, to comply with the law to avoid strict action being taken against them," he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency